Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps she is taking to provide long-term support for the Rohingya people.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The UK is pushing for accountability and longer-term support for the Rohingya. We are supporting the refugees in Bangladesh and pressing for improved conditions in Rakhine State. We have been one of the main donors to the international humanitarian response plan and we expect to remain a leading donor.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations he has made to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on its decision to terminate the refugee status of Chin refugees from Burma in (a) Malaysia and (b) India.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Since August 2018 UK officials have consulted the Burma office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UNHCR office in Geneva for clarification on the needs assessment process for Chin refugees residing in other countries, and UNHCR's proposed process for ensuring their safe return to Burma.
The UK will continue to monitor this process in line with our objectives of ensuring the safety of all those displaced by violence in Burma and a safe return process for all groups forced to flee to other countries.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian assistance her Department is providing to internally displaced people in (a) Kachin State and (b) Shan State.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are deeply concerned by continued reports of violence in Kachin and northern Shan States, which has led to a further 8,000 people being displaced since February 2018. DFID is providing humanitarian support to displaced populations. In the last financial year, DFID spent £6.1 million on humanitarian assistance for conflict affected people in Kachin and Northern Shan states. We continue to raise our concerns with both military and civilian Ministers in the Government of Burma.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the outcomes achieved by the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund with Government funding.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is proud to be a founding supporter of the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund since 2012 and has pledged up to £9million to support the grassroots response for inadequately served groups affected by HIV.
DFID assesses the outcomes achieved by the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund annually, as we do for all our programmes, and the reviews are available on the DFID Development Tracker at https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the recent rise in malaria cases in Delhi, India; and what support her Department is providing to tackle malaria in (a) India and (b) Asia.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The World Health Organisation reports that there have been 592 malaria cases detected in Delhi so far this year. The municipal corporations in Delhi are responding. The WHO is closely monitoring the situation and providing advice through its Regional and Country Offices.
DFID provides significant support to malaria control in India and Asia through our leading contribution to the Global Fund. Since 2002 the Global Fund has invested $1.9 billion in India for malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB. This support has included the provision of 3.71 million insecticide treated bed nets to prevent the transmission of malaria. The Global Fund also supports many countries in Asia, including, for example, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. In addition DFID has specific malaria programming to improve the quality of care and address the problem of sub-standard medication in Burma; and programmes in the Greater Mekong sub-region to tackle drug resistant malaria. DFID also supports research into new malaria drugs, and broader support to countries’ health systems to enable better identification and treatment of people affected by malaria.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of whether the funding needs of internally displaced people in non-government controlled Kachin state, Burma, are being fully met; how much funding is being provided to meet those needs by the Government; and what information she holds on how much funding is being provided to meet those needs by the Burmese government.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK is one of the largest humanitarian donors in Kachin State. Between 2012 and 2015 DFID has allocated over £17 million for humanitarian assistance for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Kachin and Northern Shan States, including in non-government controlled areas. We do not have figures for how much funding for the needs of internally displaced people in Kachin state is being provided by the Burmese government. The UN appeal for humanitarian assistance across Burma is currently only 27% funded. We regularly monitor the situation in the camps, including a visit by a DFID team in June 2015 to non-government controlled areas.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to inter-faith projects in Burma in 2015-16.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
We are working with a range of partners to support peace and reconciliation in Burma. DFID is providing £600,000 through the Peace Support fund for four projects that directly aim to improve inter-communal relations and combat hatred at a community level through dialogue and understanding.